By Austin Killeen Ringside          Photos by Marissa Perez

Promoter Jordan Perez offered boxing fans a solid five bout card last night at the Hispanic Culture Center. If you’ve never been to the Hispanic Culture Center it’s a wonderful venue for a boxing match, holding approximately 1,150 fans. It reminded me of the now defunct Holyoke Valley Arena in Massachusetts where I saw my first boxing card as a kid; including balcony seats. But that’s where the comparison ends, as the Hispanic Culture Center is a spotlessly clean venue and the Holyoke Valley Arena was straight out of the black and white ‘B’ movie “The Set-up (1949 film)” starring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. I think last night’s event will be remembered as the evening Aaron “Angel Baby” Perez came of age.  From his pro debut I’ve been critical of his career path, but last night he was a prospect to be taken seriously. I’ve rarely made such a strong statement about a young fighter before, but I believe this twenty year old is the complete package!

The co-feature bouts were scheduled for six rounds.

In the main event Aaron “Angel Baby” Perez (5-0-0, 4 KO’s) 129.4 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM won a UD over Jose Antonio Martinez (11-15-0, 6 KO’s) 130.8 lbs. of Durango, Mexico. At the sound of the opening round, Perez showed no caution taking the fight to his more experienced opponent. Martinez found himself under constant pressure from sneak rights, combinations and sharp left jabs. In rounds two through four Martinez picked up the pace throwing punches with bad intentions. But most of his shots found nothing but air due to Perez’s slick defensive moves. On offense “Angel Baby” continued his blistering attack, landing with right hand leads and uppercuts along with the rest of his arsenal. The final two rounds were all Perez, as he gave a dominating exhibition against a seasoned pro. Judges Ester Lopez, Chris Tellez and Mark Sanchez had identical scores of 60-54 for Perez. This was a big step up in competition and he passed with flying colors. I think he could take another step up in competition in his next fight, based on his dominating performance Saturday night. He probably won’t as there is no reason to rush him two fast. The referee was Rocky Burke

In the co-feature at welterweight, Willie Villanueva (11-5-1, 2 KO’s) 144.2 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM won a unanimous decision over Ricardo Alan Fernandez (3-10-4) 142.6 lbs. of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. In the opening round Villanueva showed little effect coming of a nearly six year layoff. Using excellent footwork he created angles which allowed him to find openings for his jab and overhand right. Fernandez showed little respect for the hometown boy, scoring with some nice shots of his own. Clearly the round belonged to Villanueva. Round two was a repeat of the first, but at a faster pace. The third round Villanueva seemed to slow down a bit while Fernandez started scoring with jabs and overhand rights of his own. Villanueva closed the round strong in the final forty seconds, but was it enough to impress the judges.

Rounds four and five were repeats of the third stanza with Fernandez pressuring Villanueva for three minutes. For his part Villanueva fought in spurts, but seemed to be pacing himself. These were close rounds, causing me to wonder what the judges were thinking. Round six was all Villanueva behind stiff left jabs and jarring overhand rights. Fernandez was game, but was walking into leather which was coming from all angles. Judges Ester Lopez and Chris Tellez scored the contest 60-54 while Mark Sanchez saw it a little closer 59-55 all for the winner Willie Villanueva. I was impressed with Villanueva’s performance; he’s a smooth boxer who punches hard enough to keep opponents honest. He’s a nice addition to the local scene; I look forward to seeing him in action again. The referee was Robert Velez.

 

The three remaining bouts were scheduled for four rounds.

In a bantamweight contest, Brandi Montoya (6-2-0) 118.6 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM won a UD over Cecilia Renova (1-1-0) 118.6 lbs. of Albuquerque. In round one Montoya, a southpaw, was very aggressive scoring with head shots, while Renova was effective to the body. The second round might have gone to Montoya as she seemed to get off first from the outside. Once again Renova countered with combinations on the inside. Rounds three and four Montoya seemed to strike first from the outside with some impressive head shots. Once Renova was able to get in close she seemed to take over with combinations to the body. Judges Ester Lopez and Chris Tellez had it 40-36 while Mark Sanchez saw it a little closer 39-37, resulting in a unanimous decision for Montoya. I had Montoya winning the bout by a narrow margin. A rematch could easily produce the same kind of action, but with Renova the victor; that’s how close each round was. Both girls will have a better outcome in the future if they set up their attacks behind a jab. It was nice seeing trainer Tony Rosales back the ring, working Brandi Montoya’s corner. When I first started covering boxing in New Mexico, Rosales seemed to be working corners on every fight card. Rocky Burke was the referee.

In a welterweight contest, Issac Luna (3-0-0) 147.6 lbs. of San Elizario, TX won a UD over Ronnie Baca (4-1-1, 3 KO’s) 146.8 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM. In the opening round Luna was able to trap Baca on the ropes much of the three minutes, scoring with many overhand rights to the head of his opponent. The second round was much closer, with Baca scoring some nice uppercuts and left hooks. Luna responded by getting inside and scoring with some nice body and head shots. Round three was another close round, with Baca carrying the action early. But he took his foot off the pedal allowing Luna to close strong. The final round was the best of the fight with both boxers landing bombs. The final three minutes featured both fighters landing clean overhand rights and left hooks resulting in both boxers’ heads snapping back. I felt that Luna was landing more of his punches, causing me to give the final round to Luna. Judge Ester Lopez’s score was 39-37, while judges Chris Tellez and Mark Sanchez had it 40-36 all for Luna by unanimous decision. If Baca had worked more behind a jab, he would have created more space to work and possibly changed the outcome. The referee was Robert Velez.

A junior middleweight bout scheduled between Jose Luis Sanchez (7-1-0, 3 KO’s) 158.4 lbs. of Albuquerque and Anthony Hill (1-25-0) 147.8 lbs. of Fort Worth, TX was canceled because Sanchez weighed in eleven pounds heavier than Hill.

In the opening bout of the evening at middleweight, Andre Garlaza (1-2-0) 158 lbs. of Albuquerque won by SD over Daniel Garcia-Flores (1-4-0) 159.4 lbs. of Albuquerque. Flores started the opening round fast, throwing lefts and rights to the head. Garlaza was quick to respond firing back with his own head attack. This was a close round and difficult to score. The second round both boxers started throwing more jabs, with neither boxer allowing defense to interfere with the action. I gave the edge to Flores. Garlaza dominated the third behind left jabs, overhand rights and some nice right hand uppercuts. Flores opened the fourth round fast but then Garlaza found his rhythm closing the round strong behind some nice head shots. Commenting from ringside I gave the final round to Flores. However watching a replay of the fight for my column I felt Garlaza was impressive. Judge Mark Sanchez scored the bout 39-37 for Garcia-Flores, but was overruled by Judges Ester Lopez and Chris Tellez who saw the contest for Garlaza with scores of 39-36. This was a very difficult contest to judge and where you were sitting could result in differing viewpoints. I saw Garlaza’s pro debut, what an improvement by this young man since that evening. The referee was Rocky Burke.